Removing My Name Off The Mortgage (DIVORCE)

[MrsForgetful]

We are getting divorced and my husbands solicitor has suggested that a way to 'settle'the house 'dispute'...is that my husband takes on the mortgage ....and i still have a 50% share of it when sold etc

i've checked this out...and in principle ... like the idea....
here's what i found out on a government website

"The property is transferred to one of you but with the other spouse or civil partner retaining an interest so that they receive either a set percentage or sum of money from the sale of the property when it is sold at a certain point in the future. That interest can be protected by registering a charge against the property at the Land Registry"

but...what happens if he does't keep up the mortgage payments and is repossessed. 50% of nothing is not a lot.
(he is self employed ...so income not guaranteed...and is a gambler)

I'm posting this in Divorce too.... any solicitors around???
I see my solicitor for my 1st 'free' appt this week...so just wanted to ask this now...the wonders of the mumsnet gurus!

When my first H and I got divorced this is what we did. We had the house valued (and agreed the value!), we agreed that I would pay him part of the value up front and the remainder was put as a charge on the house (a fixed value not a percentage). I got a mortgage in my sole name.

The charge against the house was to stay until either I sold the house or until our ds reached 18 or I remarried (in these last two cases it meant that I would have to raise the money somehow and pay Ex off). As it happened I did move house and ex agreed I could transfer the charge onto the new house, which was very good of him. I later remarried and paid ex earlier than he was expecting!

So it is possible, but not sure what would happen in the case of a reposession, but sugest that a fixed amount rather than a percentage would be better for this situation. On the other hand, if the property rose in value (and he kept up the repayments) then a percentage might be better for you.

Is there anyway you could take on the mortgage? That would put you in control.

What you're describing is usually called a Mesher order. I personally like them in circs where there is a lot of equity, the children are teenage, and the mortgage can be paid without too much pain. In other circs, they don't necessarily work.

If you do go down that route, one of the "triggers", along with your remarriage, the youngest child's 18th birthday, etc etc, can be his failure to pay the mortgage, and if that did happen, there should be a clause to say that the arrears will come out of his share.

I'm concerned that you say that 50% of nothing is nothing - don't go down this route unless there's a healthy amount of equity.